Kawaiahao Church (Honolulu)

Capt. James Cook of the British Royal Navy arrives on Kauai, renaming the island chain the “Sandwich Islands” in honor of his patron, the Earl of Sandwich. He is subsequently killed by Hawaiians on the Big Island in 1779.
(1778)

Hawaii is placed under the protectorate of Great Britain.
(1794)

Christian missionaries arrive from New England to convert the “heathen” and build churches, schools and houses. Missions are established in Kona (Big Island), Honolulu (Oahu) and Kauai.
(1820)

Honolulu's first Christian church is established at the site of the present Kawaiahao Church.
(1821)

Queen Mother Keopuolani is the first Hawaiian to receive a Christian baptism.
(1823)

Kamehameha III assumes throne, ruling under the influence of the missionaries and granting them much power and freedom.
(1823)

First sugar and coffee plantations begin operation in Manoa Valley on Oahu.
(1825)

First Catholic missionaries arrive in the Islands.
(1827)

Mexican and California cowboys arrive on the Big Island to teach ranchers about the cattle business.
(1830)

First commercial production of sugar cane begins, anticipated to be the economic alternative to a declining whaling industry.
(1835)

Ground is broken for the building of Kawaiahao Church (Honolulu).
(1838)

Kamehameha III proclaims the first constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
(1840)

First Hawaii House of Representatives is called to order; U.S. recognizes the Kingdom of Hawaii.
(1842)

Lord George Paulet seizes Hawaii in the name of England but, later that year, the Islands are officially granted independence from Great Britain by British Admiral Richard Thomas (the namesake of Honolulu's Thomas Square).
(1843)

Construction of Washington Place (now the governor's residence) is completed.
(1846)

Epidemic of measles, whooping cough and influenza claims 10,000 lives, most native Hawaiians.
(1848)

French Admiral Legoarant de Tromelin fails in attempted invasion.
(1849)

First permanent Mormon missionaries arrive.
(1850)

Legislature approves the import of contract labor to work Hawaii plantations.
(1850)

First Chinese contract laborers arrive.
(1852)

Smallpox epidemic takes the lives of more than 5,000 Hawaiians.
(1853)

'Iolani Palace (Honolulu)

Cornerstone for The Queen's Hospital is laid.
(1860)

Another dreaded disease, leprosy, enters Islands; first lepers taken to Makanalua Peninsula (Kalaupapa) on Molokai in 1866.
(1860)

First Japanese contract laborers arrive in the Islands.
(1868)

Reciprocity agreement ratified by U.S. Senate, allowing Hawaii products to be shipped without tariff, leading to boom in economy.
(1876)

King Kalakaua dedicates Queen Kapiolani Park (named for his wife).
(1877)

Portuguese contract laborers arrive.
(1878)

King Kalakaua and Queen Kapiolani move into Iolani Palace.
(1882)

King Kamehameha Statue (Honolulu)

Electricity arrives as five arc lamps are strung around Iolani Palace. (King Kalakaua was fascinated with electricity after meeting Thomas Edison; electricity was installed in Iolani Palace five years before installation at the U.S. White House.)
(1886)

Kamehameha Schools are founded in memory of Bernice Pauahi Bishop by husband Charles Reed Bishop.
(1887)

Queen Liliuokalani writes her famous song, "Aloha Oe."
(1889)

Bishop Museum's original structure is completed.
(1889)

Queen Liliuokalani is deposed in an overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy by a group of American businessmen, led by Sanford B. Dole.
(1893)

Republic of Hawaii established with Sanford B. Dole as president.
(1894)

Hawaii becomes a territory of the United States.
(1900)

Chinatown fire, set to “purify” areas infected with bubonic plague, rages out of control, destroying 38 acres of homes and businesses.
(1900)

Moana Hotel — the “First Lady of Waikiki” and now the Sheraton Moana Surfrider — opens its doors.
(1901)

James "Jim" Drummond Dole plants first pineapple crop in Wahiawa's countryside (central Oahu).
(1901)

Fort Shafter becomes the first permanent U.S. military installation.
(1907)

University of Hawaii opens as the College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts.
(1907)

Swimmer and "Father of Modern Surfing" Duke Kahanamoku wins gold medal at the Olympics in Stockholm.
(1912)

Honolulu Museum of Art is chartered.
(1922)

Work begins on the structural foundation of Aloha Tower.
(1924)

Inauguration of Lei Day.
(1927)

The Royal Hawaiian Hotel (the "Pink Palace of the Pacific") opens for business.
(1927)

Pan American Airways Clipper makes first 2,270-mile trans-Pacific flight from San Francisco to Hawaii in 21.5 hours.
(1935)

Japanese naval air forces attack Pearl Harbor; more than 2,500 lives lost; territory governor declares martial law.
(1941)

Great tsunami hits Hilo, killing more than 159 people and causing $25 million in damage.
(1946)

Hawaii admitted as the 50th state of the United States. William F. Quinn becomes the first elected governor of the new state, and Hiram Fong and Oren E. Long are both elected to the U.S. Senate.
(1959)

A Boeing 707 lands in Hawaii, trumpeting the beginning of a massive increase in Island tourism.
(1959)

Lava from Kilauea (Big Island) makes new land as it hits the ocean

Tsunami waves again hit the Big Island; 61 lives are lost, mostly in Hilo.
(1960)

The fiftieth star is added to the U.S. flag on July 4.
(1960)

George Ariyoshi is elected governor, the country’s first of Japanese ancestry.
(1974)

The Big Island's Kilauea erupts (and has continued eruption since).
(1983)

John Waihee, the state’s first governor of Hawaiian ancestry, is elected.
(1986)

Hurricane Iniki strikes, causing devastating damage on Kauai.
(1992)

Pres. Bill Clinton signs a resolution acknowledging the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893, and the U.S. Senate issues a formal apology to Hawaiians.
(1993)